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Friday, July 11, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/tech/8-ways-to-fight-for-privacy-today/

Tech

8 Ways to Fight for Privacy Today

Mass surveillance

Naomi Brockwell

How you can make an impact.

Published 19 December 2024
– By Naomi Brockwell
We do not yield to the mass surveillance machine.
5 minute read

Last week, we published the Priv/Acc Manifesto, and I was deeply moved by the outpouring of responses from people eager to take action. So many of you reached out, asking, “How can I help?”

The threat to privacy is obvious—relentless surveillance from governments, corporations, and bad actors alike. Countless bills trying to ban end-to-end encryption and mandate back doors. A sea of complacency from people who have been tricked into thinking privacy is about hiding, instead of about consent.

But the path to meaningful action isn’t always clear.

The good news is that everyone, regardless of background, has a role to play in safeguarding privacy. Whether you’re a coder building better tools, an educator raising awareness, an advocate pushing for change, or simply someone who values personal freedom, there are practical steps you can take to make a difference.

In this newsletter, I want to share some of the ways you can contribute to this critical fight.

#1 Lead by example

The easiest way to contribute is by making deliberate choices about the products and services you use. Switching to privacy-respecting tools not only protects your data, but also sends a powerful market signal that privacy matters. When you choose privacy-focused companies, you help them thrive, fostering the development of even better tools. On the flip side, continuing to use platforms that harvest our data undermines privacy-focused alternatives, pushing them out of the market.

Here are a handful of my favorite tools, but our channel features hundreds of videos showcasing great alternatives you can explore:

  • Messaging: Signal
  • Web Browsing: Brave Browser
  • VPNs: Mullvad VPN
  • Email: ProtonMail and Tutanota
  • Productivity: CryptPad and LibreOffice

#2 Push Back Against Cultural Norms

The phrase “I have nothing to hide” has become a lazy justification for dismissing privacy. It’s time to reframe the conversation. Privacy isn’t about secrecy – it’s about consent. It’s about having the right to choose who gets access to our data and rejecting the idea that valuing privacy is something to be ashamed of.

Privacy protects whistleblowers, activists, and everyday individuals from surveillance and coercion. When someone parrots “nothing to hide,” remind them that privacy safeguards freedom, creativity, and autonomy. Changing this mindset is essential to making privacy a societal priority.

#3 User Manuals and Educational Awareness

You don’t need to be technical to make a huge impact. Writing clear, accessible guides for privacy tools is one of the most valuable ways to help. Blogs with beginner-friendly tutorials or personal experiences using privacy tools contribute to a growing reservoir of educational material for the community. Translating tutorials into other languages can expand their reach even further.

Even super simple tutorials—like explaining that Gmail can read your emails—can be eye-opening for many people. Education is a powerful way to build awareness, and your efforts might help someone take their first step toward reclaiming their privacy.

#4 Contribute to Open-Source Projects

For those with technical expertise, contributing to open-source privacy projects is one of the most effective ways to support the cause. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) tools like Tor, GrapheneOS, and VeraCrypt are essential for people worldwide, but these projects are often critically underfunded and under-resourced.

Developers can help by building features or fixing bugs, while researchers can perform security audits to identify vulnerabilities. Remember the Heartbleed vulnerability? It was a major flaw in SSL, a cornerstone of internet security, that went undetected for years—illustrating the need for more eyes on open-source projects. Even small contributions, like reviewing code, can make a huge difference.

#5 Test Privacy Tools and Provide Feedback

For privacy tools to succeed, they need to be user-friendly and accessible to everyone—not just tech enthusiasts. By testing privacy platforms and sharing constructive feedback, you can help developers improve default settings and refine the overall user experience (UX). These small adjustments can make tools more intuitive, significantly boosting adoption among non-technical users.

Even if you’re not a coder, your contributions—like testing tools, reporting bugs, or improving documentation—are invaluable to open-source projects. Developers rely on user input to ensure their tools work for everyone, making your efforts critical to advancing privacy.

#6 Financial Support

Financial support is vital for building a robust ecosystem of privacy tools. Many open-source projects rely on donations to survive, and businesses building privacy tools need customers to remain sustainable. FOSS ensures that privacy tools are accessible to everyone, but if you can afford to donate or pay for premium versions, your support keeps these tools available for those who need them most.

#7 Drive Change From Within

If you work for a tech company, advocate for privacy-by-design principles—embedding privacy into products from the ground up. Push for policies like data minimization and transparency, or encourage your organization to invest in privacy research. Cutting-edge technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption are redefining what’s possible in privacy-preserving data analysis. Supporting innovation in these areas can have a profound impact on the future of privacy.

#8 Engage in Policy Advocacy

Governments frequently pass laws regulating technology without fully understanding their implications. Your voice can make a difference by shaping these policies to prevent harmful consequences. Push back against attempts to ban privacy tools or mandate backdoors, ensuring that the most vulnerable in society always have a way to protect themselves.

Supporting organizations like the EFF or other advocacy groups is another great way to get involved. These groups lobby for digital rights, educate the public, and fight back against policies that fuel the surveillance state. Together, we can help ensure that privacy remains a fundamental right.

The Power of Community

Privacy advocacy is about more than safeguarding our own information—it’s about defending the fundamental rights that underpin a free and just society. It ensures that those on the front lines—whistleblowers, activists, journalists, and others fighting for change—are equipped with the protection they need to carry out their vital work.

Every time you choose a privacy-respecting tool, educate someone about the importance of privacy, or contribute to an open-source project, you’re strengthening the movement.

Privacy isn’t about having something to hide—it’s about having the freedom to live, think, and act without fear or surveillance. It’s the foundation of creativity, dissent, and progress. Together, we can protect this essential right and ensure a future where privacy empowers us all.

Thanks for being part of this movement, everyone. This week I’m truly thankful and grateful to every one of you.

 

Yours in privacy,
Naomi

Naomi Brockwell is a privacy advocacy and professional speaker, MC, interviewer, producer, podcaster, specialising in blockchain, cryptocurrency and economics. She runs the NBTV channel on Youtube.

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https://nordictimes.com/world/rfk-jr-wants-health-trackers-on-every-american-within-four-years/

World

RFK Jr wants health trackers on every American within four years

Mass surveillance

Published 26 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
"We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda", Kennedy claims.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has presented a plan for all Americans to wear body-monitoring technology that tracks their health in real time.

The measure is described as a crucial part of the national initiative MAHA – Make America Healthy Again – which aims to reverse America’s widespread public health crisis using modern technology.

During a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, Kennedy revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will launch one of its most extensive campaigns ever – to get Americans to wear so-called wearables, body-worn technology that collects health data around the clock.

– We’re about to launch the biggest advertising campaign in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables, Kennedy said.

Products mentioned in the initiative include FitBit, Oura Ring, and Apple Watch – popular devices that can measure heart rate, movement, sleep, and in some cases even blood glucose.

– It’s a way people can take control over their own health. They can take responsibility. They can see, as you know, what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates, and a number of other metrics, as they eat it, he explained in a statement also published on the X platform.

“Key to the MAHA agenda”

Kennedy emphasized that he sees the technology as a crucial part of his vision:

– We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda of making America healthy again and my vision is that every American is wearing a wearable in four years.

The Secretary, who belongs to the influential Kennedy family, often emphasizes individual responsibility for health but also links the issue to national security. During his Senate hearing, he described America’s obesity epidemic – which now affects about 40 percent of the population – as a threat to military readiness.

“Reduce global metabolic suffering”

One of the leading advocates for this type of technology is also President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means. She is co-founder of Levels, a company that develops and sells Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) – sensors attached directly to the skin that send blood glucose values to an app in real time.

Means claims in a blog post that “these small plastic discs” can “reduce global metabolic suffering” and provide much-needed help to the “93.2 percent of people” suffering from metabolic issues.

The food industry is also affected by MAHA. Kennedy recently revealed that Starbucks will make changes to its menu in line with the agenda – even though the company already avoids several common additives such as artificial colors, flavors, and high-fructose corn syrup.

Earlier this year, Kennedy implemented a ban on artificial colors in U.S. food production – one of his first major interventions as Secretary. Critics have questioned both methods and priorities in the MAHA policy, but Kennedy sees it as a first step toward a healthier and more responsible nation.

Concerns about mass surveillance

The use of wearable health technology has raised questions about users’ right to privacy. Most health trackers collect large amounts of sensitive information – including heart rate, sleep patterns, movement, and blood glucose levels – stored in apps connected to companies.

Critics argue that there is a lack of clear transparency in how this data is used, shared, or sold, and that state-encouraged collection of health data risks blurring the line between voluntary health monitoring and systematic surveillance.

While Kennedy emphasizes voluntariness, some analysts warn that large-scale campaigns and technology adaptations by major companies may create indirect pressure to participate.

As more institutions – such as employers, schools, or businesses – adapt to health tracking, there is a risk that those who opt out may be seen as deviant, receive worse conditions, or be excluded from parts of society.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/ai-surveillance-in-swedish-workplaces-sparks-outrage/

Tech

AI surveillance in Swedish workplaces sparks outrage

Mass surveillance

Published 4 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
In practice, it is possible to analyze not only employees' productivity - but also their facial expressions, voices and emotions.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The rapid development of artificial intelligence has not only brought advantages – it has also created new opportunities for mass surveillance, both in society at large and in the workplace.

Even today, unscrupulous employers use AI to monitor and map every second of their employees’ working day in real time – a development that former Social Democratic politician Kari Parman warns against and calls for decisive action to combat.

In an opinion piece in the Stampen-owned newspaper GP, he argues that AI-based surveillance of employees poses a threat to staff privacy and calls on the trade union movement to take action against this development.

Parman paints a bleak picture of how AI is used to monitor employees in Swedish workplaces, where technology analyzes everything from voices and facial expressions to productivity and movement patterns – often without the employees’ knowledge or consent.

“It’s a totalitarian control system – in capitalist packaging”, he writes, continuing:

“There is something deeply disturbing about the idea that algorithms will analyze our voices, our facial expressions, our productivity – second by second – while we work”.

“It’s about power and control”

According to Parman, there is a significant risk that people in digital capitalism will be reduced to mere data points, giving employers disproportionate power over their employees.

He sees AI surveillance as more than just a technical issue and warns that this development undermines the Swedish model, which is based on balance and respect between employers and employees.

“It’s about power. About control. About squeezing every last ounce of ‘efficiency’ out of people as if we were batteries”.

If trade unions fail to act, Parman believes, they risk becoming irrelevant in a working life where algorithms are taking over more and more of the decision-making.

To stop this trend, he lists several concrete demands. He wants to see a ban on AI-based individual surveillance in the workplace and urges unions to introduce conditions in collective agreements to review and approve new technology.

Kari Parman previously represented the Social Democrats in Gnosjö. Photo: Kari Parman/FB

“Reduced to an algorithm’s margin of error”

He also calls for training for safety representatives and members, as well as political regulations from the state.

“No algorithm should have the right to analyze our performance, movements, or feelings”, he declares.

Parman emphasizes that AI surveillance not only threatens privacy but also creates a “psychological iron cage” where employees constantly feel watched, blurring the line between work and private life.

At the end of the article, the Social Democrat calls on the trade union movement to take responsibility and lead the resistance against the misuse of AI in the workplace.

He sees it as a crucial issue for the future of working life and human dignity at work.

“If we don’t stand up now, we will be alone when it is our turn to be reduced to an algorithm’s margin of error”, he concludes.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/dutch-opinion-leader-targeted-by-spy-attack-someone-is-trying-to-intimidate-me/

Tech

Dutch opinion leader targeted by spy attack: “Someone is trying to intimidate me”

Mass surveillance

Published 1 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to both Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Apple, it is likely that the opinion leader was attacked because of her views.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Dutch opinion maker and conservative activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek recently revealed that she had received an official warning from Apple that her iPhone had been subjected to a sophisticated attack – of the kind usually associated with advanced surveillance actors or intelligence services.

In a social media post, Vlaardingerbroek shared a screenshot of Apple’s warning and drew parallels to the Israeli spyware program Pegasus, which has been used to monitor diplomats, dissidents, and journalists, among others.

– Yesterday I got a verified threat notification from Apple stating they detected a mercenary spyware attack against my iPhone. We’re talking spyware like Pegasus.

– In the message they say that this targetted mercenary attack is probably happening because of ‘who I am and what I do’, she continues.

The term mercenary spyware is used by Apple to describe advanced surveillance technology, such as the notorious Pegasus software developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. This software can bypass mobile security systems, access calls, messages, emails, and even activate cameras or microphones without the user’s knowledge.

Prominent EU critic

Although Apple does not publicly comment on individual cases, the company has previously confirmed that such warnings are only sent when there is a “high probability” that the user has been specifically targeted. Since 2021, the notifications have mainly been sent to journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, and officials at risk of surveillance by powerful interests.

Vlaardingerbroek has long been a prominent voice critical of the EU and has become known for her sharp criticism of EU institutions and its open-border immigration policy. She insists that the attack is likely politically motivated:

– I definitely dont know who did it. It could be anyone. This could be name a government that doesn’t like me. Name a organization that doesnt like me. Secret services, you name it.

– All I know for sure right now is that someone is trying to intimidate me. I have a message for them: It won’t work.

“There must be full transparency”

The use of Pegasus-like programs has been heavily criticized by both governments and privacy advocates. The tools, originally marketed for counterterrorism, have since been reported to be used against journalists and opposition leaders in dozens of countries.

In response, Apple sued NSO Group in 2021 and launched a system to warn users. However, the company claims that the threats are “rare” and not related to common malware.

The Vlaardingerbroek case is now raising questions about whether such technology is also being used in European domestic political conflicts, and the organization Access Now is calling on authorities in the Netherlands and at the EU level to investigate the attack.

– There must be full transparency. No one in a democratic society – regardless of political views – should be subjected to clandestine spying for expressing opinions or participating in public discourse, said a spokesperson.

Neither Apple nor the Dutch authorities have commented publicly on the case. Vlaardingerbroek says she has not yet seen any signs that data has actually been leaked, but has taken extra security measures.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-government-proposes-wiretapping-children-without-criminal-suspicion/

Sweden

Swedish government proposes wiretapping children without criminal suspicion

Mass surveillance

Published 1 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The government's own investigator proposed that only the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) should be allowed to eavesdrop on children without criminal suspicion - but this is not enough, according to the government.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Gang crime continues to plague Sweden, with recurring bombings, shootings and contract killings spreading fear in society, without those in power managing to get a grip on crime.

Criminal gangs often use minors to carry out serious crimes. For this reason, the Tidö parties (the center-right coalition government) want to give police the authority to wiretap children under the age of 15 – even in cases where there is no specific suspicion of a crime.

During a press conference the government stated that the social trend is bleak, that “serious crime is penetrating lower and lower down the age scale” and that children are increasingly “playing central roles in the commission of serious crimes“.

Currently, police are not allowed to use “secret coercive measures” against children under the age of 15 – which allegedly hinders police work when investigating murders and bombings.

At a press conference on Wednesday, representatives of the Tidö parties confirmed that they want to change the legislation so that children can also be wiretapped – partly when they are being investigated for crimes – but also for “preventive purposes” – i.e. without any actual suspicion of crime.

– These are far-reaching proposals. But it is justified by the development of society, said Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M), and continued:

– It is about preventing crime, but also about reaching those who are behind and controlling via children’s cell phones.

Dismisses own investigator’s limitations

The government’s own legal investigator had recommended that only the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) be allowed to use wiretapping without suspicion of a crime. However, the government disagrees, arguing that it is “absolutely necessary” for regular police to also be allowed to wiretap children if they can be linked to serious organized crime.

The government maintains that fighting gang crime is more important than protecting the integrity of minors. Strömmer stated that “there are very significant risks in allowing the current reality to continue as it is”.

The change in the law is proposed to come into force this fall for at least five years, after which it will be evaluated.

Although most people seem to agree that organized crime needs to be fought, many are also opposed to the fact that the moderate-led government repeatedly chooses to focus so much on increased wiretapping and surveillance. Critics also point out that there is a real risk that the surveillance apparatus will be abused in the future or used very arbitrarily and without legal certainty.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

N

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